The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Corylus plant, (hazelnut, filbert) botanically known as Corylus avellana, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Dorris’. Corylus avellana is in the family Betulaceae.
The new Corylus resulted from a controlled cross of female parent OSU 309.074 (unpatented) and male parent ‘Delta’ (unpatented) made in 1997 by Shawn A. Mehlenbacher and David C. Smith. Hybrid seeds from the cross were harvested in August 1997, stratified, and seedlings grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1998. From this cross, a total of 307 seedling trees were planted in the field in Corvallis, Oreg., USA in October, 1998. ‘Dorris’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Corvallis, Oreg.
‘Dorris’ was originally assigned the designation OSU 876.041, which indicates the row and tree location of the original seedling. OSU 309.074 is from a cross of ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ (unpatented)×OSU 23.017 (unpatented). ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ is an important cultivar in Piemonte, northern Italy. OSU 23.017 is from a cross of ‘Barcelona’ (unpatented)×‘Extra Ghiaghli’ (unpatented). ‘Extra Ghiaghli’, obtained from Greece, is a clone of the important Turkish cultivar ‘Tombul’ (unpatented). ‘Delta’ was released by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station in 2002.
The new cultivar was asexually reproduced by rooted suckers annually for eight years (2003-2010) in Corvallis, Oreg. The new cultivar was also asexually propagated by whip grafting in 2004 in Corvallis, Oreg. The unique features of this new Corylus are stable and reproduced true-to-type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.